Dmitri Berlinsky, violin

Dmitri Berlinsky arrived on the international scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. This victory led to his performance on Nicolo Paganini's own Guarneri del Gesu instrument, a privilege shared by only a handful of artists in history. Subsequent triumphs at the Montreal International Violin Competition (Grand Prize), the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels led to appearances with major orchestras in Europe, Russia, the Far East, North and South America.

Mr. Berlinsky has performed in such major venues as Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Tokyo's Suntory Hall, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Berlin Schattspiellhaus, the Munich Herkulessaal, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Bonn Beethoven Hall, and Place des Arts in Montreal, among others.

Since coming to the United States in 1990 as the winner of the renowned Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Berlinsky has performed hundreds of concerts and given recitals in more than forty states throughout the USA. He has also performed in Australia, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Uruguay, Colombia and Peru.

His extensive performance schedule has taken him to the Mostly Mozart Festival, the Prague Spring Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Newport Music Festival, and the Settimane Musicale in Stresa, Italy, as well as appearances at the Ambassador Foundation in Pasadena, the Fiddle Fest at Alice Tully Hall, and the 92nd Street Y, and a South American tour with the Prague Chamber Orchestra.

Recent highlights include performances with the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, Brott Festival Orchestra, Utah, Virginia, Kalamazoo, Miami, San Antonio, and West Virginia Symphonies, and with I Musici de Montreal in Canada and the United States, as well as appearances at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico and festivals in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, Taiwan and Costa Rica.

Born in St. Petersburg into a family of musicians, Mr. Berlinsky began studying the violin with his father. At a very early age he appeared as soloist with the St. Petersburg Symphony and the Moscow Philharmonic. He attended the Moscow Conservatory, where he received his bachelors and masters degrees. After graduating from Moscow, Mr. Berlinsky was invited to work with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki at the Juilliard School, from which he graduated in 1993.
Mr. Berlinsky's Pavane CD recital, Live at Waterloo, recorded in Belgium and his latest recording, Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher on Helicon Records, have won critical acclaim.

More at www.dmitriberlinsky.com

The Providence Singers

Barbara Kilduff, soprano
Hillary Nicholson, mezzo-Soprano
Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor
James Kleyla, bass-baritone

Barbara Kilduff, soprano

Coloratura soprano Barbara Kilduff enjoys a sparkling career in opera, oratorio and song recital on both sides of the Atlantic. National winner of the Metropolitan Opera Council auditions, she went on to win first prize in the Munich International Competition and the silver medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  Ms Kilduff debuted with the Bavarian, Vienna and Hamburg State Operas, as Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, a role she repeated in Basel, Vancouver, Athens and Cologne.

Zerbinetta was also her role in her Metropolitan Opera debut conducted by James Levine.  In the same season she appeared as Adele in Die Fledermaus, and returned the following season as Cleopatra in Julius Caesar under Trevor Pinnock, and as Blondchen in Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail under James Levine.  Maestro Levine conducted again at the Metropolitan Opera's 25th Anniversary Gala when she performed the Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus. Ms Kilduff debuted to great acclaim in the role of Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) at the Bavarian State Opera in a production by Brigitte Fassbaedner. She repeated this role in New York, San Diego and Vienna (where she also appeared as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte).  She made her La Scala debut as Blondchen under Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Her wide-ranging performances include Queen of Shemakhan (Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel ) under Mistislav Rostropovich; the Nightingale and Fire (Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges) under Charles Dutoit; Carmina Burana with the St Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin; Schoenberg's Von Heute auf Morgen under Pierre Boulez in Ludwigshafen, Milan, Rome and Vienna; Annchen (Weber's Die Freischutz)under Wolfgang Sawallisch, Maggio Musicale, Florence and the New York Philharmonic under Sir Colin Davis. She has appeared as soloist in Mahler's Eighth Symphony with the National Symphony of Spain under Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos, in Bach's St John Passion with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao under Juanjo Mena and in Beethoven's Egmont at the Krakow Festival under Aldo Ceccato.

In the New England area Ms Kilduff's opera performances include Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with Granite State Opera under Phillip Lauriat, repeating that role with Emmanuel Music under Craig Smith. She has performed the role of Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor) with Granite State Opera under Philip Lauriat, Norina (Don Pasquale) with the Newton Symphony Orchestra under Jeffrey Rink, Morgana (Alcina) with Emmanuel Music under Craig Smith.

Ms Kilduff is much sought after for concert performances, one of the more recent being an exciting concert of opera arias with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Jeffrey Rink. In parallel with her opera career she has broadened her repertoire out to oratorio, for example a recent Brahms Deutsches Requiem at Jordan Hall, Boston. In the past months she has sung Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis and Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ. Her repertoire also includes Haydn’s Creation, The Seasons, Harmonie Mass, Missa Cellensis and Stabat Mater, as well as Mahler’s Second and Eight Symphonies, Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem, Mendelsohn’s Elijah,  Schubert’s Mass in G and Bach’s St. John Passion.

As a recitalist, Ms Kilduff has appeared in many artists’ series in the United States where she has also presented master classes at universities and colleges. She has been a visiting faculty member at Boston University's School for the Arts and the New England Conservatory of Music. Ms Kilduff’s numerous recordings include the role of Seele in Schoenberg's Jacobsleiter with the Frankfurt Symphonie, Isotta in Strauss' Die Schweigsame Frau with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Madame Herz in Mozart's Schauspieldirektor with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and as Papagena in the Metropolitan Opera's television broadcast.

A native New Yorker, Ms Kilduff now resides with her husband and two children in Andover, Massachusetts where she teaches voice at Phillips Academy.

Hillary Nicholson, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-Soprano Hillary Nicholson has performed leading roles with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States.  She has appeared as Carmen with the Sacramento Opera, Emilia in Otello with the Tampa Bay Opera, Dame Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Mississippi Opera and the Opera Festival of New Jersey, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Ocean State Lyric Opera and Ma Moss in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land with the Skylight Opera Theatre, a performance taped for broadcast on Public Television.

Miss Nicholson has made concert appearances with the St. Louis, Detroit, Rochester, Tucson and Chattanooga Symphonies and with the Bravo-Vail Valley, Finger Lakes and Britt Festivals.  She made her debut with the Newport Music Festival singing in 11 concerts in 8 different languages and dialects.  She has created roles in several World Premieres-- Sally Seton in Libby Larsen’s Mrs Dalloway, Rebecca Ferris in Richard Cumming’s The Picnic with Trinity Repertory Theater and The Ballad Singer in Richard Wargo’s Ballymore with the Skylight Opera Theatre, which was broadcast on Public Television.  She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. 

Miss Nicholson has also appeared as Maddalena in Rigoletto with the Cleveland, Chattanooga and Ocean State Lyric Operas, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with the Dayton and Chattanooga Operas and the RI Philharmonic, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring with Kentucky Opera, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti and Concepcion in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole with Lyric Opera Cleveland. In addition, she has sung with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Memphis, Berkshire Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the West Virginia Symphony.  She has also appeared as Dorabella, Cherubino, Gluck’s Orfeo, Purcell’s Dido, and Britten’s Lucretia, along with such rarities as Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto and Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera.  Equally at home in lighter repertoire, her roles in operetta range from Hélène in Offenbach’s La belle Hélène to Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

An accomplished artist in concert as well as opera, Miss Nicholson has been heard as soloist in such works as Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mass in C, the Requiems of Mozart and Duruflé, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat and Mass in B Minor, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Harmoniemesse, Honegger’s King David and John Corigliano’s Fern Hill.

She has appeared in concert and recital with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Concerts at Coe Hall, the Charleston String Quartet, the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, the Rhode Island Civic Chorale, the New Bedford Choral Society, the Swanhurst Chorus of Newport, and the New Music Ensemble of Providence.  Miss Nicholson has been heard on WGBH radio’s Morning Pro Musica and has appeared in a televised recital program for South Carolina Educational Television.

A native of Chicago, Miss Nicholson now makes her home Rhode Island.  She received her M.M. and Artist’s Diploma in Opera from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was recipient of the prestigious Corbett Opera Prize.  She was a National Winner in the NATS Artist Award, the NFMC Young Artist and the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competitions.  She has also been a regional winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Opera Columbus Competition.  She was twice named First Place Winner of the Lyric Opera Cleveland Professional Artist Development Award and was a winner in the Annamaria Saritelli-DiPanni Bel Canto Opera Scholarship Competition.

Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor

Admired for his outstanding musical intelligence and for the purity, power, and flexibility of his voice, tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan is quickly becoming one of the most sought after young tenors singing today. Making his Carnegie Hall début in December 2003 as Percy in Donizetti's Anna Bolena with the Opera Orchestra of New York, New York Newsday reported:

“Armenian tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan offered a winsome portrayal of Percy, his elegant and affecting voice possessing a gorgeous, veiled tone a bit reminiscent of renowned Italian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano. If this outing is any indication, Manucharyan is definitely worth keeping an eye on.”

Mr. Manucharyan joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 2007-08 covering the difficult role of Pylade in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride and Alfredo in La Traviata while continuing to do concert work in Boston (Verdi Requiem), Eugene, Long Island and in New York at Carnegie Hall with the New York Chorale Society with the Berlioz Requiem. He began his 2008-09 season with Boheme for Tulsa Opera and returned to Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York as Lykov in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Tsar’s Bride with Olga Borodina. He was also seen with Opera Boston in Shostakovich’s The Nose where he returns in 2009-10 for Tancredi. He also returns to the Met in 2010 and 2011 to sing  the new production of Armida.

In recent seasons Mr. Manucharyan has appeared as Riccardo in Maria di Rohan by Donizetti at the Wexford Festival, followed by a debut in Boston with the Verdi Requiem, Rodolfo in La bohème with the Teatro San Carlo of Naples in Salerno, Gerald in Lakmé with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the New York City Opera and Argirio in Rossini’s Tancredi at the Caramoor Festival. He opened the 2006-2007 season of the Minnesota Opera as Rodrigo in Rossini’s La donna del lago and made his début with San Diego Opera in 2008, continuing the expansion of his bel canto roles, as Leicester in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda.

Mr. Manucharyan joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 2007-08 covering the difficult role of Pylade in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride and Alfredo in La Traviata while continuing to do concert work in Boston (Verdi Requiem), Eugene, Long Island and in New York at Carnegie Hall with the New York Chorale Society with the Berlioz Requiem. He will begin his 2008-09 season with Boheme for Tulsa Opera. In 2004-2005 he made his New York City Opera début as Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles. Early in the season he débuted the role of Lenski in Eugene Onegin at the Tulsa Opera, and the role of Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia with Toledo Opera. He was tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and returned to Carnegie Hall for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the New York Choral Society, and performed the same opus with the Eugene Symphony.

Mr. Manucharyan opened the 2003-2004 season as Alfredo in La traviata at the Tulsa Opera, made a dazzling début as Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles with the Or Questa Symphonic del Estado de Mexico, returned to Baltimore Opera to sing the Duke in Rigoletto and to the Or Questa Symphonic del Estado de Mexico as Rodolfo in La bohème, was guest soloist in a gala concert in Boston celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the birth of composer Aram Khachaturian, and sang his first Alfredo in La traviata with the Boston Concert Opera. He closed the season at the Caramoor International Music Festival in the role of Potosí in the world premiere of Donizetti's long lost opera Elisabeth. Other recent performances have included the Dvorak Stabat Mater with the Masterworks Chorale, Lukas Foss' Griffelkin with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which was performed both in Boston and at the Tanglewood Festival, his début with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the role of Saro in Tigranian's Anoush at the Michigan Opera Theater, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Baltimore Opera as Tamino.

A native of Yerevan, Armenia, in 1995 Mr. Manucharyan was engaged by the Armenian National Opera as a principal artist, and sang leading roles including Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Cassio in Otello, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Ramiro in La cenerentola, Beppe/Arlecchino in I pagliacci and Saro in Anoush. As featured soloist with the State Philharmonic Orchestra from 1995 to 1998, Mr. Manucharyan performed in various repertoire including Verdi Requiem, Bruckner's Te Deum, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and the Berlioz Requiem. While a graduate student at Boston University's Opera Institute, he sang the title role in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Rodolfo in La bohème.

James Kleyla, baritone

Mr. Kleyla has performed leading roles with the Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera, Gold Coast Opera of South Florida, June Opera Festival of New Jersey, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. His oratorio credits include Mendelssohn's Elijah, Bach's Mass in B-minor , Haydn's Di Schöpfung and Die Jareszeiten, Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ, Bloch's Sacred Service, and the Requiems of Brahms, Durufle, Fauré, Mozart and Verdi. Recent appearances include performances of Our Town with Lake George Opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe and La Traviata with Boston Lyric Opera, Le Nozze di Figaro at Virginia Opera, The Magic Flute at Tulsa Opera, Die Fledermaus with Kentucky Opera, Carmen with Ocean City Lyric Opera, and The Magic Flute with Opera Pacific. He returns to Tulsa Opera to sing the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro  Upcoming performances include Rambaldoin La Rondine with Utah Symphony & Opera, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Knoxville and Syracuse Opera, Baron Douphol in La traviata  with New Orleans Opera, and The Speaker in The Magic Flute and Ping in Turandot with Cleveland Opera.

The Providence Singers

The Providence Singers is a one-hundred-voice symphony chorus, acclaimed for its “wonderful vocal blend, and an impeccable sense of voicing” (Providence Journal). The chorus has performed with jazz legend Dave Brubeck at the Newport Jazz Festival and at Lincoln Center; with the Kronos Quartet at the FirstWorks Festival; and in collaboration with many other ensembles, including the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New Haven Symphony, Newport Baroque Orchestra, and the Aurea Ensemble.

The Providence Singers presents an annual choral concert series, commissions new music, and provides intensive education programs for high school singers. The National Endowment for the Arts has supported several Providence Singers projects, including its recordings of rediscovered American masterpieces. The ensemble’s critically acclaimed CD of Lukas Foss’s The Prairie, and its recently release recording of Dominick Argento’s Jonah and the Whale, are available on the BMOP/sound label wherever CDs are sold. For information on concerts, recordings, education programs and auditions, visit ProvidenceSingers.org.

Mastersingers by the Sea
University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth University Chorus
Selected Singers from Regional Choruses

Kristen A. Watson, soprano
Hillary Nicholson, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Anderson, tenor
Anton Belov, baritone

Kristen A. Watson, soprano

Soprano Kristen Watson, hailed by critics for her “blithe and silvery” tone and “winning stage presence”, has made solo debuts with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of New York City, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Boston Baroque, the Handel & Haydn Society, and Emmanuel Music, at such venues as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Boston’s Symphony Hall. Anticipated to “become a valuable presence in the early-music world” (Richard Dyer, Boston Globe), Ms. Watson was recently granted the Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellowship with Emmanuel Music, as well as awards from the American Bach Society Vocal Competition (Finalist), Oratorio Society of NY Solo Competition (Semi-Finalist), Concert Artists Guild Competition (Semi-Finalist), the Joy in Singing Competition (Semi-Finalist), and the Louisville Bach Society Vocal Competition (3rd Place).

Opera audiences have recently heard Ms. Watson as the “Voice of the Fountain” in Osvaldo Golijov’s acclaimed new opera Ainadamar with Opera Boston, directed by Peter Sellars. She has performed in additional productions with Boston Lyric Opera, Boston University Opera Institute, Intermezzo Opera, and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh in such roles as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Polly Peachum in The Beggar’s Opera and Monica in The Medium.

A versatile crossover artist, Ms. Watson has appeared at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops as the headlining artist on their “Holiday Pops” program, as well as “Mozart’s Greatest Hits”, both under conductor Keith Lockhart. She has performed as a featured soprano alongside Greek tenor, Mario Frangoulis, as the headlining artist for the July 4th celebration concert in Salem, MA, and has sung back-up for Barry Manilow in a concert at Boston's Tweeter Center. Ms. Watson’s regional musical theater performances include Carousel (Carrie) starring Shirley Jones, The King and I (Tuptim) starring Justin Deas, Titanic (Eleanor Widener), and Into the Woods (Witch); other favorite roles performed include Hello, Dolly! (Minnie), Annie (Grace), The Boy Friend (Dulcie), and Barnum (Joice Heth).

Additional solo performances include the Carmel Bach Festival, the Aston Magna Festival, the Cactus Pear Music Festival, and the White Mountain Bach Festival, as well as the Cape Cod Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Topeka Symphony, Walden Chamber Players, Napa Valley Youth Symphony, and the Pittsburgh Camerata. An enthusiastic supporter of new music/contemporary classical music, Ms. Watson can also be found frequently premiering works of new composers, such as the members of Altavoz, a Latin-American consortium of composers living in various cities around North America and Europe. She also sings alongside soprano Kathryn Mueller and harpsichordist Michael Sponseller as Les Sirènes, a dynamic new ensemble taking audiences on an exploration of the soprano voice and Baroque repertory.

Kristen Watson is originally from Topeka, Kansas, and holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Boston University.

Hillary Nicholson, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-Soprano Hillary Nicholson has performed leading roles with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States. She has appeared as Carmen with the Sacramento Opera, Emilia in Otello with the Tampa Bay Opera, Dame Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Mississippi Opera and the Opera Festival of New Jersey, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Ocean State Lyric Opera and Ma Moss in Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land with the Skylight Opera Theatre, a performance taped for broadcast on Public Television.

Miss Nicholson has made concert appearances with the St. Louis, Detroit, Rochester, Tucson and Chattanooga Symphonies and with the Bravo-Vail Valley, Finger Lakes and Britt Festivals. She made her debut with the Newport Music Festival singing in 11 concerts in 8 different languages and dialects. She has created roles in several World Premieres-- Sally Seton in Libby Larsen’s Mrs Dalloway, Rebecca Ferris in Richard Cumming’s The Picnic with Trinity Repertory Theater and The Ballad Singer in Richard Wargo’s Ballymore with the Skylight Opera Theatre, which was broadcast on Public Television. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

Miss Nicholson has also appeared as Maddalena in Rigoletto with the Cleveland, Chattanooga and Ocean State Lyric Operas, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with the Dayton and Chattanooga Operas and the RI Philharmonic, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring with Kentucky Opera, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti and Concepcion in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole with Lyric Opera Cleveland. In addition, she has sung with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Memphis, Berkshire Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the West Virginia Symphony. She has also appeared as Dorabella, Cherubino, Gluck’s Orfeo, Purcell’s Dido, and Britten’s Lucretia, along with such rarities as Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto and Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. Equally at home in lighter repertoire, her roles in operetta range from Hélène in Offenbach’s La belle Hélène to Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

An accomplished artist in concert as well as opera, Miss Nicholson has been heard as soloist in such works as Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mass in C, the Requiems of Mozart and Duruflé, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s Magnificat and Mass in B Minor, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Harmoniemesse, Honegger’s King David and John Corigliano’s Fern Hill.

She has appeared in concert and recital with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Concerts at Coe Hall, the Charleston String Quartet, the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, the Rhode Island Civic Chorale, the New Bedford Choral Society, the Swanhurst Chorus of Newport, and the New Music Ensemble of Providence. Miss Nicholson has been heard on WGBH radio’s Morning Pro Musica and has appeared in a televised recital program for South Carolina Educational Television.

A native of Chicago, Miss Nicholson now makes her home Rhode Island. She received her M.M. and Artist’s Diploma in Opera from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was recipient of the prestigious Corbett Opera Prize. She was a National Winner in the NATS Artist Award, the NFMC Young Artist and the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competitions. She has also been a regional winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Opera Columbus Competition. She was twice named First Place Winner of the Lyric Opera Cleveland Professional Artist Development Award and was a winner in the Annamaria Saritelli-DiPanni Bel Canto Opera Scholarship Competition.

Matthew Anderson, tenor

Matthew Anderson has been praised for the warm tenor voice and polished musicality he brings to the repertoire of oratorio, opera, and musical theater.

Mr Anderson has twice been a national finalist and prizewinner in the American Bach Society Vocal Competition and was a finalist in the 2009 Liederkranz Art Song Competition.

A member of the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale in 2005 and 2006, Matthew appeared as tenor soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and Matthew Locke’s The Mask of Orpheus.

He sings regularly as a soloist in Boston's renowned Emmanuel Music Bach Cantata Series and has appeared as a soloist with the Handel & Haydn Society, Cantata Singers, Back Bay Chorale, Musicians of the Old Post Road, Williamstown Early Music, Masterworks Chorale, Musica Maris, Concord Chorus, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project.

Matthew's recent credits include Act III of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger at Tanglewood, conducted by James Levine; Carousel (as Mr. Snow) and A Richard Rogers Celebration at Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart; Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion at the Aldeburgh Festival, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki; Stravinsky’s Renard at Tanglewood, directed by Mark Morris; Haydn’s Creation with Emmanuel Music; John Harbison’s Winter’s Tale with Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Britten’s Saint Nicolas with the chorus and orchestra of New England Conservatory; and Stravinksy’s Pulcinella and Britten’s Serenade with Discovery Ensemble.

Mr. Anderson trained in the James Collier Apprentice Artist Program at Des Moines Metro Opera, the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in England, and the Cincinnati Opera Resident Ensemble. He also spent two seasons as a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and was a Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow with Emmanuel Music.

Mr. Anderson studied Classics at Harvard University and voice with Carole Haber at the New England Conservatory.

Anton Belov, baritone

Baritone Anton Belov is quickly earning recognition from audiences and critics alike. His voice has been called that of an emerging star by the Philadelphia Inquirer and rich and mellifluous by the New York Times, while the Opera News describes his performance as that of great emotional honesty; singing straight from the heart. Mr. Belov’s recent operatic appearance include roles of Count di Luna (Il Trovatore) and Escamillo (Carmen) with the Anchorage Opera, John Sorel (The Consul) and Doctor (The Nose) with Opera Boston, Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Don Giovanni and Ping (Turandot) with the Opera New Jersey, Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Helena Symphony, Ping with the Connecticut Grand Opera, Malatesta (Don Pasquale) with Opera Providence, Silvio (Pagliacci) with the Belleayre Festival, Masetto (Don Giovanni) with Boston Baroque, and the title role in Delaware Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. In the upcoming season Mr. Belov returns to Anchorage Opera as Eugene Onegin and as Escamillo (Carmen) with the Helena Symphony. He is also scheduled to appear with numerous orchestras around the country.

Mr. Belov is the first-place winner of eight vocal competitions including the George London Competition, Licia Albanese—Puccini Foundation International Competition, and Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Eastern Regional Winner) as well as the second-place winner of Classical Singer Magazine Competition. As the winner of Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Belov has appeared in over forty recitals throughout the United States. A native of Moscow, Anton Belov holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from The New England Conservatory, an Artist’s Diploma and a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School. Currently, Mr. Belov is in the process of completing a Doctor of Music degree at the Boston University. A specialist in Russian lyric diction, he is the author of Russian Opera Libretti in Word-to-Word Translation and IPA Transcription and the Anthology of Russian Arias (Leyerle Publications 2004-06).

Featuring Jodi Benson (the voice of the Little Mermaid)

Jodi Benson, a native of Rockford, Illinois, has received worldwide recognition and critical acclaim as the voice of Ariel in the Academy Award winning Walt Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid as well as the bubbly voice of Tour Guide Barbie in Disney’s Toy Story II, winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. She also gave life to the spirited Weebo in Disney’s live action Flubber co-starring Robin Williams. For Warner Brothers, she created the title voice of Thumbelina, a Don Bluth animated feature with songs by Barry Manilow.

Jodi’s recent projects include The Little Mermaid III, The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea as Ariel, Lady and The Tramp II as Lady, 101 Dalmatians II as Anita, DreamWorks’s animated video Joseph: King of Dreams as his wife Asenath starring Ben Affleck, and in Balto II and III as Jenna for Universal Studios. She appears as “Sam” (Patrick Dempsey’s asst.) in Disney’s film, Enchanted as a real live person- with legs!

Ms. Benson received a Tony Award and a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for creating the starring role of Polly in the Tony Award winning Broadway Gershwin musical Crazy For You.  Other Broadway credits include: creating the starring role of Doria Hudson in the Howard Ashman/Marvin Hamlisch musical Smile, Betty Bursteter in Cy Coleman’s Welcome To The Club, and Virginia in Kenny Ortega’s Marilyn: An American Fable. Internationally, Ms. Benson has had the honor of sharing the stage with her husband Ray Benson in the European Premiere of Gershwin’s My One and Only, starring as Miss Edythe Herbert.

In Los Angeles, Ms. Benson starred in the critically acclaimed Reprise/UCLA production of Babes In Arms as Bunny, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific(Pasadena Civic), Flora the Red Menace(Pasadena Playhouse), Ado Annie in Oklahoma!(Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady(Alex Theatre), and as Florence Vassey in Chess(Long Beach Civic Light Opera) for which she won the Drama-Logue Award for Best Actress.

Jodi can be heard on several recordings including Disney’s Songs From the Sea, Disney Classics, Splash Hits, The Little Mermaid soundtrack, and The Princess Collection; Varese Sarabande’s Unsung Musicals I and A Hollywood Christmas, EMI/Angel’s Crazy For You cast album, Warner Brothers’ Thumbelina soundtrack, and with EMI/Sparrow Records: Jodi Benson and the Beginners Bible I and II, Guideposts Junction-a six part video series and album. Her newest project for kids is a 6 part DVD series entitled Babyfaith from the creators of Baby Einstein.

Her animated television series include the newest Cartoon Network hit Camp Lazlo, the Emmy Award winning The Little Mermaid, Pepper Ann, Pirates of Dark Water(Hanna-Barbera), P.J. Sparkles, the Barbie primetime series as the voice of Barbie, Disney’s animated series Hercules as the ever “perky” Helen of Troy, Batman Beyond, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, The Wild Thornberry’s and many others.

On the concert stage, Ms. Benson had the honor of appearing as the guest soloist at the Kennedy Center Honors for Ginger Rogers, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin Tributes, Walt Disney: 75 Years of Music at The Hollywood Bowl with conductor John Mauceri. Jodi has performed with symphonies all over the world including The National Symphony, Cleveland, Dallas, Tokyo Philharmonic, San Francisco and Chicago. She has starred in Disney’s Premiere in Central Park with Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiere at the New Orleans Superdome, and The Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary Spectacular, and Disney’s 100 Years of Magic. Ms. Benson is honored to be the resident guest soloist for the Walt Disney Company/Disney Cruise Line and ambassador for feature animation.

Zuill Bailey, cello

Zuill Bailey is widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry as well as his engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active cellists today.

A consummate concerto soloist, Bailey performs with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, San Francisco, Israel, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Dallas, Louisville, Honolulu, Milwaukee, Nashville, Toronto and Utah, among other leading orchestras around the world. He has collaborated with such conductors as Itzhak Perlman, Alan Gilbert, Andrew Litton, James DePriest, and Stanislav Skrowacezewski, and has been featured with musical luminaries Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, the Juilliard String Quartet, Lynn Harrell and Janos Starker. Mr. Bailey has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and Carnegie Hall, where he made his debut performing the U.S. premiere of Miklos Theodorakis' Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra.

His international appearances include celebrated performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in its 50th anniversary tour of Russia, as well as concerts in Australia, the Dominican Republic, France, Israel, Spain, Hong Kong, Jordan, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom. Festival appearances include Ravinia, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Santa Fe , Caramoor, Chautauqua, Bravo!, Vail Valley, the Maverick Concert Series and the Music Academy of the West. In addition, he was the featured soloist performing the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Bard Festival in the World Premiere of the Doug Varrone Dance Company’s performance of “Victorious.”

An accomplished Chamber musician and recitalist, Zuill Bailey performs regularly with pianists Navah Perlman, Awadagin Pratt and Orion Weiss.

Zuill Bailey is an exclusive recording artist with Telarc International. The “Bach Cello Suites,” released on February 2, 2010, immediately soared to the top of the Classical Billboard Charts. His “Russian Masterpieces,” CD featuring the works of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, performed with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra has received widespread critical acclaim.

Bailey was awarded the Classical Recording Foundation Award for 2006 and 2007 for the recording of Beethoven’s complete works for Cello and Piano. This highly touted two disc set with pianist Simone Dinnerstein was released on Telarc worldwide.

Other recordings include a debut recital disc for Delos, Cello Quintets of Boccherini and Schubert with Janos Starker, Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concertos No. 1 and 2 "Live," and the Korngold Cello Concerto with Kaspar Richter and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz for ASV.

Network television appearances include a recurring role on the HBO series “Oz,” in addition to features on the NBC series” Homicide,” A&E, NHK TV in Japan, a live broadcast of the Beethoven Triple Concerto from Mexico City, and the televised production of the Cuban premiere of Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Orchestra of Cuba. He is heard on NPR's "Performance Today," "Saint Paul Sunday," BBC's "In Tune," XM Radio's "Live from Studio II," Sirius Satellite Radio, Virtuoso Voices, the KDFC Concert Series, Minnesota Public Radio, WFMT and RTHK Radio Hong Kong.

Zuill Bailey performs on a 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. In addition to his extensive touring engagements, Bailey is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro Musica, (Texas), Artistic Director designate of the Sitka Summer Music Festival and Series, (Alaska) and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.
www.zuillbailey.com

Catherine Manoukian, violin

Catherine Manoukian's professional career began at the age of twelve when she won the grand prize at the 1994 Canadian Music Competition. She was born in Toronto, began violin studies with her father, and made her first stage appearance at the age of four. From 1994 to 2000, Catherine studied with the late, world renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay in New York. Catherine's orchestral debut was with the Vancouver Symphony in 1994, playing Paganini's first violin concerto. In subsequent years, she has soloed with many major North American and international orchestras, including, among others, the CBC Radio Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra,the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Century Orchestra, and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, all received to great critical acclaim. She has collaborated with such conductors as Mario Bernardi, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Keith Lockhart, Roy Goodman, Peter Oundjian, Tomomi Nishimoto, Seikyo Kim, Eduard Topchjan, and Jonas Alber.

As a recitalist, she has appeared on major stages of such cities as New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Toronto, Paris, Tokyo, and Osaka, and has appeared as a chamber musician at the Aspen, Caramoor, and Newport International Festivals.

Catherine has released four CDs. “Elegies and Rhapsodies”, a debut recital collection, “Chopin on Violin”, consisting of transcriptions for violin of works by Chopin, “Lyricism”, a collection of encores, and “Catherine Manoukian, Violin”, featuring the Shostakovich A minor and Khatchaturian Violin Concertos, recorded with the Armenian Philharmonic under Eduard Topchjan. Her fifth CD, a pairing of the Franck and Strauss E-flat major sonatas, with pianist Xiayin Wang, was released in September 2008. Catherine's extra-musical education includes undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in history and philosophy. She is currently on leave from the PhD programme in philosophy at the University of Toronto. Her research has been on the nature of rationality and she's worked on giving an account of deviant belief-forming processes. (This means that she's secretly a neuroscientist.) Catherine holds a CGS doctoral research grant, awarded by the social sciences and humanities research council in Canada.

www.catherinemanoukian.com

Martina Filjak, piano

One of the brightest instrumental talents to emerge from Croatia today, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise not only for her poetic passion and galvanizing strength at the keyboard, but also for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence. Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 12 with Croatia’s renowned Zagreb Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Filjak has achieved a graceful transition from a child prodigy to a mature artist of both technical prowess and elegant artistry.

Martina Filjak has performed with esteemed orchestras of her home country and abroad, including The Cleveland Orchestra; the Zagreb, Strasbourg, Morocco, Belgrade and Torino Philharmonics; the Zagreb, Croatian, Moscow, Vallès and Barcelona Symphony Orchestras; the Croatian Chamber Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. As a recitalist, Ms. Filjak has performed in such major venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, l’Auditori and Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Carnegie Hall in New York, Palais des Congrès in Strasbourg, Musikverein in Vienna, Shanghai Oriental Art Center and the Severance Hall in Cleveland.

Martina Filjak’s 2009-2010 season began with a first-place victory at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition. In addition to a cash prize, Ms. Filjak receives as part of her winnings a compact disc recording on the Naxos label, two years of artist management and more than 50 worldwide engagements. Her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in December 2009 received excellent reviews at the New York Times declaring her ' a pianist to watch' . In October 2009 she was additionally awarded an Honorary Medal by the President of the Republic of Croatia for her artistic achievements. Additional recent engagements include solo and orchestral tours in Spain, Argentina, China and the United States. She performs with the Moscow State, Tenerife and Bilbao Symphony Orchestras; Orchestra Sinfonica di Savona, the Torino Philharmonic Orchestra, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Chile National Symphony Orchestra and the Granada Symphony Orchestra under such esteemed conductors such as Jahja Ling , Christian Zacharias , Heinrich Schiff , Theodor Guschlbauer and Stefan Sanderling.

Born in Zagreb and raised in a family of pianists, Martina Filjak is a graduate of the Music Academy of Zagreb and the Vienna Conservatory. Additionally, she attended the prestigious Como Piano Academy at Lake Como in Italy . Miss Filjak speaks 7 languages and is both a Croatian and Italian national.

www.martinafiljak.com